1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to trocar assemblies for accessing the body, and more particularly, to a trocar assembly including a housing that may laterally translate about the proximal end of a cannula.
2. Background of Related Art
Trocars and other access assemblies are used by surgeons to operate on a patient without having to create large incisions that may become infected and may cause major scaring. Trocar assemblies are known in the art, as are the instruments inserted therethrough for operating within the body cavity. Typically a trocar assembly comprises two major components, a sleeve including a housing and a cannula, and an obturator. The housing may be securely affixed to the cannula, or the housing may instead be adjustable. Typically, a trocar system having an adjustable or floating housing includes a housing configured to permit lateral movement of the housing relative to the cannula. By incorporating a floating housing into the trocar assembly an instrument inserted through the housing may be manipulated with a greater degree of control and without moving the cannula.
In order to provide a greater space in which a surgeon may operate and to increase visibility of the tissue being operated on, the body cavity is generally insufflated. To avoid gas leakage from within the cavity prior to or during insertion of an instrument through the cannula, and as instruments are being removed and replace, various seal members have been developed. Conventional trocar assemblies having a floating housing include at least one seal member fixedly disposed within the housing. Thus, as an instrument is inserted through a trocar assembly, a seal is created about the instrument as it passes through the housing. In this manner, when the housing, or the instrument inserted therethrough, is manipulated the seal member and the housing are moved together. By including the seal member within the housing the connection between the housing and the cannula must be air-tight to prevent the leakage of insufflation gas. Frequent or repeated use of the trocar assembly may compromise the integrity of the connection between the housing and the cannula. This wear on the connection may result in malfunction of the seal and result in leakage of the insufflation gas.
Additionally, the location of the seal member within the access assembly affects the handling of an instrument passing therethrough. The seal member in effect creates a pivot point around which the instrument may be manipulated. The closer the pivot point is to the target site, the greater the degree of control a surgeon may have while manipulating the instrument inserted therethrough. By including the seal within the housing the pivot point is as far from the target site as possible, thereby reducing the degree of control the surgeon has over the instrument.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to have a trocar assembly including a floating housing wherein the instrument seal is located distally of the floating housing or within the cannula.